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Brandon Jennings on D'Angelo Russell: 'I don't respect a snitch'

Brandon Jennings doesn't respect snitches. (Getty Images)
Brandon Jennings doesn’t respect snitches. (Getty Images)

Well, next month’s meeting between the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers just took on some added intrigue, beyond the NBA’s two largest media markets clashing for the first time this season.

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Provoked only by a Twitter question — “Do you think D’Angelo Russell can be an All-Star?” — Knicks point guard Brandon Jennings took a needless jab at his Lakers counterpart in a since-deleted tweet:

A screenshot of Brandon Jennings' since-deleted Twitter jab at D'Angelo Russell.
A screenshot of Brandon Jennings’ since-deleted Twitter jab at D’Angelo Russell.

The shot — “Dude is a great hooper, but I don’t respect a snitch” — came in reference to a video Russell took of Lakers teammate Nick Young boasting about his romantic exploits this past December. The footage landed in the wrong hands and leaked on a gossip website last season, forging a divide in the L.A. locker room and, ultimately, a split between Young and his pop-star fiancee Iggy Azalea.

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In the immediate aftermath of the leak, Russell told The Vertical, “I am sick. I am sorry about recording the video. I can’t repeat myself enough on that: I am sorry I recorded the video. I feel horrible. I wish this never happened.” Likewise, Young has since publicly defended Russell and said of their relationship, “We’ve already been working it out. It is what it is. I can’t be mad forever.”

Jennings wasn’t so forgiving. And this wasn’t the first time he ripped Russell, calling the former No. 3 overall pick “the worst teammate in sports history” in a still-not-deleted tweet from this past June:

For the record, Jennings and Russell have never been teammates. And you can probably think of worse teammates than a 20-year-old kid who made a stupid mistake as a rookie. Take any of the many NBA players who have been arrested on domestic abuse charges, for exhibits A-through-Z.

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Not to mention Russell is averaging an impressive 16.3 points, 4.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals through his team’s first three games, and would probably be the least likely person to ever do something so dumb again. Still, Jennings’ jab speaks to how long the video will stick to his reputation. In the meantime, Russell will just have to get his payback against Jennings and the Knicks on Dec. 11.

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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!